Welcome to my blog! I blog about the historical romances I write as well as the history behind them.

The Next Big Thing - Caution to the Wind

Update: Caution to the Wind is available early for the Kindle at Amazon. After August 23rd, the official release date, it will be available trough other retailers and my publisher, The Wild Rose Press, in ebook and paperback.As I mentioned recently,
I was tagged by my friend Maddy Barone, author of paranormal romance, to
participate in The Next Big Thing blog hop. Last week she posted about her current
Work in Progress, Eddie’s Prize. You can read her post here.

Now I’m supposed to tag four more writers... Yikes! I don’t know four more
romance writers who aren’t already involved! Granted, my fellow authors haven’t
threatened me with seven years bad luck or anything, but I hate to be the one
to break the chain. If you’d like to participate, let me know.

I’m working on a
couple of stories right now, but I thought I’d create my Next Big Thing post
about the one I’ve been discussing most recently: Caution to the Wind.

Here we go!

What is
the working title of your book?

Caution to the
Wind

Where
did the idea come from for the book?

I love Sea Stories
like Master and Commander and Horatio Hornblower, but they never have enough romance. (or any, really)
The idea for this book probably came from reading those types of novels and
thinking about what I would have done differently.

That’s a tough
one. For Captain Stoakes, I’ll admit I had Ioan Gruffud in my head when I first
started writing, but there are several problems with him. First, he’s English, although I suppose he’s a good enough actor he could play an American. Second,
he played Captain Hornblower and I don’t think most people could separate him
out from that character. I’m open to suggestion.

In my head, Amanda
is definitely a younger meg Ryan – before she got the lip implants. I
guess Kate Hudson could play her, but she’s just somehow not quite right. It's got to be someone who's blond, curly-haired and spunky.

What is
a one sentence synopsis of your book?

Amidst the
American Revolution, Amanda Blakely disguises herself as a young boy and signs
on to a privateer captained by a man as dangerous as he is handsome.

Will
your book be self published or represented by an agency?

This book will
be published by The Wild Rose Press.

How
long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

This was
actually my first book. I took about six months to write the first draft. When
I submitted it to TWRP, they wanted some plot changes that I wasn’t so sure I
wanted to make so I set it aside to work on Le Chevalier. After that was
published in June 2012, I came back to Caution to the Wind and polished it up
for another six months or so before submitting it. All in all, it took about a
year to complete the first decent draft. (Looking back, the first draft I sent in to TWRP wasn't all that well-polished.)

What
other books would you compare this story to within your genre.

I don’t know
that there is any straight comparison. My interest in romance started with
writers like Julie Garwood, but I read more of her before I started
writing. I really haven’t read much of her newer or more contemporary stories.
I like writers like Madeline Hunter and Mary Balough, and they certainly
inspire me. However, their pieces (at least all the ones I’ve read) are set in
England and in a slightly later time period. I am certainly inspired by other
writers like James L. Nelson, but I try not to let him influence me too much as
he’s so far outside the romance genre, it would kill by stories. I'm pretty sure most romance readers could care less about the details of sailing the ship.

Who or
What inspired you to write this book?

I’ve wanted to
be a professional writer since I was a kid, although it came and went as
aspirations do at that age. After twenty or so years in the marketing profession,
I started my own freelance writing business. It was, and still is, going well,
but since I was now my own boss with no nosy-bodies in the cubicle next to me
anymore, I thought I’d try writing novels again.

As an aside, I
think it’s easier to write novels now that I am older. I have more experiences
to draw on. For younger writers, I’d encourage them not to get discouraged even
if it takes awhile to get their career going. For older writers, I’d say it’s never
to late to start!

What
else about your book might interest the reader?

I have a story fleshed out for Neil, Amanda’s
younger brother, but it takes place fifteen years later during the French
Revolution. Although it fits into the romance genre, it’s a bit dark, and I’m
just not ready to devote myself to it yet.

Mini
Excerpt:

“Mind telling me what you’re still doing
here?” Will said, his voice calm.

Amanda pasted a smile on her lips and
whirled around to face him, “I am a member of your crew, aren’t I?”

The curl at the edge of his lips reminded her that backing a wolf into a corner might not be such a wise thing to
do. Desperation had driven her to the point of recklessness.

“Perhaps,” he said, denying her the assurance she sought, “but I thought you would be leaving with
your father now that you know he is alive. I thought he would insist on it. I
know I would, if I were him.”

“He thinks you’re an honorable man,” Amanda
lifted her chin.

“And you? What do you think?”

Did she detect a note of uncertainty in his voice?

“I think you are as well,” she took a deep
breath to steady her resolve, “but I’d really rather you weren’t.”